Matthew Cooper: Umaga displays more impact on the wing than at centre

Tana Umaga for the wing.

That's one of my big hopes for this week's test against Fiji, because I firmly believe that Umaga is still our No 1 wing choice.

Mark Robinson looks like the centre for John Mitchell's game plan and although Umaga is a fine player there, he does not have the same impact as on the wing where he has more of a roving commission.

I'm not advocating this move just because Umaga looked a more relaxed figure on the wing for the Barbarians against the Maori on Friday night.

Robinson has shown that he has the strength and defence to be our test centre where we need a big and powerful player - although he will be even better when he distributes the ball better as he has the ability to do.

Umaga has developed into a fine centre, but for my money he was at his best as a wing.

Jonah Lomu has still not shown enough to warrant a starting spot, and although Caleb Ralph had an error-ridden test at Eden Park, he would be my No 2 choice ahead of Doug Howlett on form this year.

So that's my three-quarter line to start the Tri-Nations: Umaga, Robinson and Ralph.

The fullback position is still contentious, especially as Leon Macdonald continues to show signs that his basic skills suffer when he's put under test-match pressure.

MacDonald certainly has his strengths. But he hasn't shown enough to mean that the fullback spot should be automatically regarded as his ahead of Christian Cullen.

You still feel that Cullen could offer this team so much, and he showed some signs of that against Italy. He's got that rare X-factor. Here's hoping he gets a shot against Fiji, which Mitchell will see as his dress rehearsal for the Tri-Nations.

As for halfback, I'd stick with Justin Marshall to start. He showed the physical presence we need.

The forwards are pretty much settled, and Reuben Thorne stepped up a notch after a quiet first test, but I'd like to see more constructive work from Scott Robertson at No 8.

The big worry for Mitchell and Robbie Deans is that the high error rate early in Saturday night's test against a stubborn but limited Irish side would cost them dearly against teams like Australia and England.

But there were many good signs. It is hard to know if this was in Mitchell's original thinking, but the forwards returned to a more traditional style of driving play to lay a platform.

Richard McCaw showed again that we have a champion openside flanker.

There were also some very promising signs in the linking of the backs and forwards to create momentum, something that will be a big part of the Mitchell game plan.

There was a noticeable lift in confidence, a vital ingredient, and excellent impact from the bench - particularly from Marty Holah, Byron Kelleher and Joe McDonnell. Mitchell can have every confidence in the players he is bringing on.

The forwards made a statement that they wanted to physically dominate their opponents, and they did.

The Irish cause was hardly helped by Ronan O'Gara's goalkicking. O'Gara had two blatant technical problems. He approached the ball too front on, which puts the hips out of position, and he lifted his head too early.

Lifting the head is a sign that a kicker is lacking confidence, and almost trying to will the ball through the posts. It only makes matters worse. A goalkicker doesn't even need to look at where the ball is going - it's not going to make any difference. O'Gara really needed to go back to the basics.

It also seems obvious that in goalkicking and punting this adidas ball, the secret is not to try to thump it too hard, but instead to smoothly stroke the ball.

Andrew Mehrtens looked very disappointed when he missed a 40m penalty, as if he had put all his new theories about the ball into action yet it wavered. He's the best in the business and will sort it out.

It's not the best time of year for goalkicking, with the rain and wind to contend with. But it might be that goalkickers have a slightly reduced range with this ball.